Chapter Fourteen

"I think the plan went very well indeed."

James lifted his shoulders and then let them fall as he and Lord Thurston rode along the path to the small village. "I do not think that Lord Barlington has been at all dissuaded, however."

"Does that matter?" Lord Thurston tilted his head. "It seems to me that Lady Temperance was relieved that we were present and that should be the only thing that matters, should it not?"

James considered this and then nodded. "Yes, I suppose so."

"But you feel differently?"

With a small hesitation, James chose to be honest about his own heart. "I am concerned that Lord Barlington will not give up and that troubles me a great deal. I understand that Lady Temperance was relieved yesterday but what if Lord Barlington should try again? What if he should come upon her deliberately when we are not present? I saw in her eyes how distressed she was just as we arrived."

"And that pained your heart."

James looked to his friend. "Did it not pain yours?"

Lord Thurston nodded. "Of course. Though mayhap without the same intensity that you feel at present."

Scowling, James looked away from Lord Thurston, keeping his gaze towards the path. "You sound like my mother."

"You mean that both she and I are stating the very same thing, albeit in a slightly hidden manner?" Lord Thurton chuckled softly. "Yes, my friend. I think that you are beginning to have a greater consideration for Lady Temperance than you would wish to admit."

James shrugged again. "Be that as it may – and no, you need not lift your eyebrows at me like that for I am well aware I have told you the truth without hesitation – Lady Temperance has made it quite clear that she desires only to be as she is at present. When I spoke with her, she stated that her father and mother do not see that she is contented as she is. Who am I to push myself forward into that? If she is happy, then I have no desire to alter that happiness in any way. "

Lord Thurston frowned. "But she may not even think that you are considering her in that way. It may be that she cannot even imagine a gentleman having any sort of interest in her! I do not think that I am speaking out of turn to say that I know for certain that such a situation is not something that Lady Temperance has ever considered."

His mother's words came back to him with force as James considered what his friend had said. That was the second time he had heard that Lady Temperance would never even consider that a gentleman might look at her in such a way! Would she be happy to know that he was beginning to feel a flicker of affection towards her?

"It is not as though she is going to accept Lord Barlington's interest," Lord Thurston continued, as they made their way into the village. "Quite what that gentleman hopes to achieve by coming here, I do not know."

"Nor do I," James agreed, "though my mind is a little troubled. I worry that there is something a little more nefarious at play here."

Lord Thurston looked at him sharply. "Oh?"

"This is something I considered only this morning," James told his friend. "Why is Lord Barlington come to pursue Lady Temperance? He ended their engagement yes, and certainly the ton might think rather poorly of him – though some, I think, would say that they understood and agreed with his decision. Therefore, why would he not then be able to pursue another young lady? What is it about Lady Temperance that pulls him so quickly towards her?"

There was a slight pause. "She is the daughter of a Duke, I suppose."

"Yes, but he is a Marquess. There is no disappointment in that. Besides which, if he were to marry Lady Temperance, he would have whispers and the like follow after him for many a year. Not that I think such a thing is right, of course."

"Of course not, but what you are saying is true." Lord Thurston's brows knotted. "That must mean that there is some reason, some purpose, in what he is doing."

"Precisely."

"And you would like to find out what that is? "

James pursed his lips, considering. "I am not certain," he answered, after a few moments as they made their way into the village. "It is not my place, so I do not know whether I ought to do such a thing or not."

"Yes, but you are her friend, as am I and as is my wife," came the response. "I think it would be wise for us to discuss this all with Lady Temperance and see what she thinks."

James found himself nodding. "Yes, I should like to do that."

"Good." Jumping down from his horse, Lord Thurston gestured to the tavern across the street from where they were at present. "Should you like to go and join the locals for a quick drink?"

James chuckled and dismounted, throwing the reins to a young lad, along with a coin and the promise that they would return within the hour and that more coin would follow, should he look after their horses well. He stepped out with Lord Thurston, knowing that the locals would give them their very best table but, at the same time, be pleased to know that two gentlemen of the ton had chosen to come and sit in their establishment. He had no doubt that it was not the first time Lord Thurston had frequented this place and it would not be the last.

Pushing open the door, he soon had himself seated at a table in the corner of the room, right next to a very large window. It was a little grubby, so difficult to make out everything clearly, but all the same, he appreciated it. Lord Thurston sat down with two glasses in his hands and, with a grin, James took one from him.

"I thank you." He studied the glass, a little surprised at how clean it was. "This place is quite satisfactory, is it not?"

Lord Thurston grinned. "It is! I have come here alone at times and always found it quite pleasant in fact! Though the local folk do not come and converse with me, I will say. In that regard, I am a little too high for them though I should not be displeased if they came to speak! I would be glad of conversation, I think."

"At least you have conversation now," James chuckled, only to catch sight of a figure walking towards the establishment. His brow immediately lowered, his shoulders dropping. "Though we may not be able to stay for too long. I believe that Lord Barlington intends to step into this very place!"

Lord Thurston's eyebrows lifted. "Lord Barlington? "

James nodded, not able to say more as the gentleman pushed open the door and stepped inside. James turned his face away at once, Lord Thurston rounding his shoulders a little as though that might hide his profile from the gentleman. Much to James' relief, however, Lord Barlington simply went straight to the barman, requested a drink and, thereafter, walked across the room to sit down on the opposite side of the tavern.

James let out a small breath of relief. "I do not think that he saw us."

"It is very unusual for a gentleman of his ilk to come and sit in here alone, however," Lord Thurston remarked, glancing across the room towards the man in question. "A Marquess in a tavern, in a small village such as this? Why ever should he do that?"

"And he does live some miles away also," James muttered, lifting his glass to his lips. "That is a little unusual."

Lord Thurston shrugged. "Mayhap he is doing his best to show Lady Temperance that he is a gentleman willing to do whatever he must to fit into this place he has come to love. Mayhap he hopes that the villagers will speak well of him and that she will hear of that in some way."

James' lip curled. "Mayhap." He threw another glance at the gentleman, only for his eyebrows to lift. "Look. There is someone coming to speak with him."

Lord Thurston turned to look. "Indeed there is."

"Do you recognise him?"

His friend shook his head. "I do not."

James let himself study the interaction, his eyebrows lifting as the man slammed one fist down on the table, only for Lord Barlington to rise up out of his chair, plant his hands on the table and glare at the fellow in return. "There is an argument, certainly."

"Though that fellow does not appear to be one of the high gentry."

"No, he does not." James tilted his head just a little, observing the fellow. "A knight or a baron, mayhap? I wonder what such a person has to do with the Marquess."

"I do not know but there is clearly something that has frustrated him. The Marquess has only been here for a few days, how could it be that there is something so significant between this other fellow and himself so quickly? "

A sense of uncertainty wrapped around James' heart and he shook his head. "I do not know. Though I confess that I should be very interested in finding out."

Lord Thurston chuckled darkly. "As would I. It is not a fair consideration, I know, for a gentleman's business ought to be his own but given his intention as regards Lady Temperance, a lady whom my wife and I consider to be a very dear friend, I think the urge is only right."

James nodded and continued to watch as the fellow glared back at Lord Barlington, only to slam his fist on the table again, say something more to him and then turn to walk out of the tavern.

"I will go after him," Lord Thurston said quickly, rising to his feet. "I am known around here so it will not bring any sort of suspicion if I speak to this fellow, whoever he is."

"Do not ask anything too obvious," James warned, only for Lord Thurston to nod and then step away. Despite the urge to continue to watch Lord Barlington, James forced his gaze away and kept it on the window, seeing the outline of Lord Thurston as he approached the other fellow. The man did stop and bowed towards Lord Thurston, before they lingered in conversation. James bit his lip, watching them speak and wondering just what it was that Lord Thurston was asking him. It was all rather strange. Seeing the man step away, he waited for a moment, only for Lord Thurston to beckon to him through the window. Getting up out of his chair, James threw back the rest of his drink and then made his way to the door, managing one sidelong glance towards Lord Barlington. Relieved that the gentleman had not noticed him, he stepped outside into the sunshine and to where Lord Thurston was.

"That was Sir Jeffries," Lord Thurston said, the moment James came to meet him. "He is not high in the gentry, as I suspected, but we are acquainted. I did not recognise him until we came outside and, of course, I pretended surprise at meeting him here."

"And did he say why he was present?" James asked, as the two made their way directly across the street and away from the tavern. "Did he mention Lord Barlington?"

Lord Thurston shook his head. "No, he did not and I did not pry. I did not think that it would be wise to do so. Instead, I simply asked about his family and situation and he told me that his presence here in the village was on matters of business… and because his daughter insisted on going to the haberdashery."

James' lips pursed. "I see."

"We have not learned anything useful, only to say that Lord Barlington and Sir Jeffries are somehow acquainted."

"And that there is bad feeling between them for some reason," James added, turning around to survey the tavern. "It is very strange indeed. I should like to ask Lord Barlington about it just to see what he would say but I do not think it would be wise. If he is attempting to hide something, then asking him questions will not help."

"No, it will not. Instead, I think it would force him to stay even quieter."

James looked to his friend. "Then what shall we do?"

After a moment, Lord Thurston nodded to himself and then looked to James. "I think that we should say nothing and do nothing for the moment. It would not be wise to say anything to anyone else – including Lady Temperance – since we have no proof of anything."

"But I must do something!"

Lord Thurston nodded. "Of course. Might I suggest that we then agree to observe Lord Barlington as best we can? Speak with him, encourage an acquaintance between us? It may be that more of such behaviour appears and we will be able to discover something more."

A scowl darkened James' features once more. "Then that means I shall have to engage in conversation with him, pretend that I find his company a delight rather than unwelcome." A sudden thought hit him and he shook his head. "I cannot do that, not when Lady Temperance will believe that – "

"Then inform her of what you are doing but do not say any more than that," his friend interrupted, gently. "Mayhap you merely say that you are looking to make certain of Lord Barlington's motivations and thus, you think it best to make certain of his movements about the area. You need not explain any more than that."

James nodded. "An excellent suggestion," he agreed, feeling himself a little more assured. "I shall do that." His eyes flared as he caught sight of his carriage approaching. "Goodness, it appears as though my mother is determined to join us today! She was muttering about coming in search of various things for her artwork here in the village."

Lord Thurston's eyebrows lifted. "I did not think that such a small place would have such things."

"She has had some things sent here from town, I believe." James smiled as Lord Thurston nodded his understanding. "On the very day that my mother picked up her paintbrush again, she sent various letters to town and the like, determined to have the very best of supplies sent back to her."

"Ah." Lord Thurston chuckled. "Then do you wish to join her?"

"I suppose I should," James grinned. "Though do not feel as though you have to stay."

Lord Thurston made to say something, only to open his eyes a little wider as he looked beyond the approaching carriage. "Though that appears to be my very own carriage coming also!"

"Your wife?" James asked, as Lord Thurston nodded. "Then it seems we are both to stay!" With a smile, he waited for the carriage to arrive, all thought of Lord Barlington – for the moment, at least – gone from his mind.